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French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

Old Dec 18th 2015, 8:20 am
  #46  
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Default Re: French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

Originally Posted by dbd33

I don't fear not understanding Londoners, I fear them not understanding the Americanised accent I have now. I suppose the sino-Geordies think you foreign too, a mid-Atlantic speaker in the manner of Niles Crane.
I'd rather hoped for his brother, but yes, you're right. I'll have to get used to buying petrol at the garage and such all over again.
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Old Dec 18th 2015, 2:06 pm
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Default Re: French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

[apologies for long post. I missed the beginning of this thread or I'd have jumped in earlier!]

Some interesting points in this thread. I think it's worth pointing out, in case it's not obvious from previous posts, that "French Immersion" covers a wide variety of programs, with varying degrees of French-language instruction, often depending on which grade the immersion starts. I don't know the system for BC, but my local board here in southern Ontario has been having a lively debate about the future of FI programming, which has been moderately enlightening to somebody with three kids in the FI stream but no prior knowledge of the minutiae.

In Ontario at least, to count as an FI education, a certain number of hours of instruction must be given in French. For early (SK or Grade 1) immersion, continuing until at least Gr8, this equates to roughly half of tuition being given in French. Another option is for a Gr4 immersion, where in order to meet the instruction-hours requirement, something like 80% of instruction is given in French. Obviously this changes the subject matter mix that is taught in each language. For any entry point into immersion beyond Gr5, endeavouring to get a FI education would limit one's choice of high school program to one that includes FI instruction options. About half of high school curriculum in this area is available in French.

At my kids' school, much of the liberal arts and social sciences curriculum is given in French (plus of course "French Language Arts", with English tuition in maths, some science subjects, music, PE, and English. In most grades, each class has a home-room teacher in either the English or the French stream, and is paired with a "switch class" with a teacher in the other stream; the timetable works on a two-week rotation such that every other week the morning instruction is in English and the afternoon in French, and vice versa. In one year, my eldest had a bilingually-qualified teacher who took both streams, and we found that the ability to seamlessly cross over between the "morning" language and "afternoon" language was a major advantage in comprehension of both French vocabulary and the subject matter.

In previous threads on this subject, it's also been clear that the FI program is a much more politically pointed issue in BC than in Ontario. The use of FI programming to avoid immigrant, ESL, SEN and First Nations children seems to be a major bone of contention for funding and classroom provision in BC; the system in Ontario seems to be a little less unbalanced, although there are some school boards in regions with a high ESL population, for example, where the FI program sucks up a disproportionate proportion of funding considering the competing needs for ESL and other tuition demands. While it is, strictly speaking, not an academically selective program, it is plainly obvious from my children's school that there is a self-selecting cohort of engaged and educated parents who choose the FI path for their kids. While fluency in French in the home is not a requirement, there's no doubt at all that some ability in the language makes supervision of (and assistance with) homework very much easier. My French is a long way from fluent, but there are enough fluent Francophones (both Quebecoise and French) speakers in the extended family that it always made sense to us to submit our offspring to the FI program.

As to its usefulness: for sure, there are opportunities opened up in Federal employment, but that's a relatively small market. More important to me, at least, is the large body of research that points to the supplementary benefits of learning (and being educated in) a second language. I'm with SB and Novo that my O-level in Latin was probably more direct use in my career than those in either French or German. But all have certainly helped indirectly in tuning the brain to operate in a way that has more or less dictated my career path. And it's peripherally helpful, on being introduced to a colleague or customer from somewhere else in the world, to be able to exchange a few words of greeting in their own language.

Of course, the most important phrase to learn in any language is one taught to me by a friend's multilingual mother many years ago. "mon ami paiera," "mein Freund wird bezahlen," "il mi amico paghera," and so on. Especially if the poor unsuspecting friend doesn't speak the language .
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Old Dec 19th 2015, 6:41 pm
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Default Re: French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

Both of my kids (currently ages 9 and 12) are in the French Immersion prog. in Ontario.
They are of average/above average intellectual ability.

Certainly there is an element of social streaming that goes along with FI, like it or not it's true. The more engaged parents put their kids in FI. Only the more able kids stick with FI beyond grade 5. My kids end up working hard because they want to "keep up" with their smarter than them class mates.
What I have also found is that the FI program attracts kids from parents who have a more global view than your average Canadian. Maybe the parents have lived or worked abroad. At the very least, they're interested in the world beyond their immediate community.
IMO to focus on the "usefulness of french" only is missing the point somewhat.
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Old Dec 19th 2015, 7:50 pm
  #49  
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Default Re: French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

Originally Posted by lifeisajourney
Both of my kids (currently ages 9 and 12) are in the French Immersion prog. in Ontario.
They are of average/above average intellectual ability.

Certainly there is an element of social streaming that goes along with FI, like it or not it's true. The more engaged parents put their kids in FI. Only the more able kids stick with FI beyond grade 5. My kids end up working hard because they want to "keep up" with their smarter than them class mates.
What I have also found is that the FI program attracts kids from parents who have a more global view than your average Canadian. Maybe the parents have lived or worked abroad. At the very least, they're interested in the world beyond their immediate community.
IMO to focus on the "usefulness of french" only is missing the point somewhat.

You've made some very good points here.
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Old Dec 19th 2015, 10:54 pm
  #50  
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Default Re: French Immersion School vs. main stream schoo??

Originally Posted by Oakvillian
I'm with SB and Novo that my O-level in Latin was probably more direct use in my career than those in either French or German. But all have certainly helped indirectly in tuning the brain to operate in a way that has more or less dictated my career path. And it's peripherally helpful, on being introduced to a colleague or customer from somewhere else in the world, to be able to exchange a few words of greeting in their own language.
But my point was that I didn't "learn" French or German in school (to any significant extent).

Depending on needs, there are other ways.
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